Girl, Serpent, Thorn Review

*Mild Spoilers Below*

There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.

Soraya I could definitely sympathize with and agree with most of the decisions she made in this book. If I was in the same position as her I would of probably done the same thing. I just think she trusted Asad way to quickly and virtually exposed all of her familial secrets to this guy she just met 5 minutes ago. I got a sense of their connection sure but again it was just a little too insta lovey for me. I do appreciate the transformation of Soraya’s character throughout the duration of the plot. She really takes on a lot of guilt and responsibility for everything that happens and I don’t necessarily believe that it was all her fault.

Soraya’s mother on the other hand I felt just handled everything completely wrong. Ignoring Soraya for all these years and barely spending any time with her and not explaining any of the reasons behind the curse especially after she knew Soraya had visited the Div. When we did find out the reasoning behind what she did you can understand why she made her choices but still just be honest and explain everything rather than leaving your daughter miserable and alone for so long.

All of the characters in this book were very distinct and connected in a way that you wouldn’t predict. Azad and Parvaneh in particular were very interesting. Especially when we find out their backgrounds and how they changed the course of history in this land by their quite selfish decisions. It really shows how perspectives can be skewed and they way people interpret history into fact.

There’s a part of me that would of enjoyed this book even more if Soraya would of gave into her baser instincts and actually allied herself with Azad and became the queen. Again it was obvious that she would betray Azad and stay true to her family and her people but we get that so often in fantasy nowadays that I would of appreciated that kind of twist. I am still very satisfied with how this ended and who Soraya ended up with but I kind of wanted more.

⭐️3/5 stars So this was a tad frustrating but also entertaining and thrilling!